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Female Jaguar Yaguara Released Into Bolivian National Park
Yaguara, orphaned in 2024 wildfires, became the first jaguar successfully rehabilitated and freed in Bolivia. The release into Noel Kempff Mercado national park followed nearly two years of preparation by CIWY staff.
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A female jaguar named Yaguara was released into the 1.5 million hectare Noel Kempff Mercado national park in Bolivia on or before 5 June 2026, The Guardian reported. Yaguara had been in captivity since August 2024 after being orphaned as an eight-month-old cub during Bolivia’s worst recorded wildfire season. The 2024 fires burned more than 10% of the country’s surface area.
Authorities handed the cub to veterinarians from the Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi rescue centre. CIWY raised Yaguara for nearly two years at the 1,000-hectare Ambue Ari reserve. Staff built a 10,000-square-metre enclosure with a pool at a cost of about $80,000 to help her hone hunting skills.
Camera traps recorded more than 600 direct interactions between Yaguara and a wild male jaguar. The organisation formed a committee with government institutions and conservation experts to develop Bolivia’s first jaguar rehabilitation protocols. Yaguara was flown by small aeroplane to a military base near the Bolivian-Brazilian border, then transported by boat into the park, where she was fitted with a satellite monitoring collar.
CIWY spent about $120,000 in total on the release. Iván Márquez, the biologist overseeing post-release monitoring, said Yaguara had maintained survival instincts and learned to hunt small prey. “We want to give these animals, ripped from their habitat, a second chance,” he said.
The jaguar is categorised as near-threatened globally by the WWF. In Bolivia its status is vulnerable, with discussion ongoing to downgrade it to endangered, according to wildlife researcher Damián Rumiz. Poachers kill an average of 61 jaguars in Bolivia each year, the highest number globally.
In 2024 Bolivia recorded the world’s second-highest level of deforestation after Brazil. Rumiz questioned whether releasing jaguars into areas with already healthy populations represents the best use of resources. “Funding more in situ conservation activities, improving training of park rangers, studying wild populations with camera traps ...
